sam.ekstrom

"I'm catching Jason Marquis' bullpen right now."

First off, thanks for the mention. Second, the Twins will need boosts from Pavano and Marquis to separate themselves from the 2008 staff. Two of the three remaining starters from '08 (Baker, and Blackburn) had arguably their best career season in '08, or at minimum their second best year. Frankie pitched very well for the final two months, and Perkins' production will be hard to duplicate unless we get a jolt from, say, Anthony Swarzak. With the Twins playing a small-ball style this year, I think we need one or two guys to contribute their career-best season to keep us in games---maybe Blackburn/Liriano? I think they have the most room for improvement (if you take out '06 for Frankie).

I keep thinking of the 2008 Twins as a doppelganger for the 2012 version. Keep in mind that the '08 Twins only had three established power hitters on their roster: Justin Morneau (who was coming off two straight 30+ HR seasons), Craig Monroe (who had maxed at 28, but only hit 12 the year before; didn't finish the season with them), and Michael Cuddyer (hit 24 in 2006). Other than that, Mauer, Kubel, and Delmon all had maxed at 13 HRs in a single season. Their lineup was full of no-pop guys like Adam Everett, Carlos Gomez, Mike Redmond, Brian Buscher, Brendan Harris, Span, Punto, Tolbert, Casilla, etc... and they still came within a game of the postseason. That 2008 team was 4th in average, but 29th in home runs. This season is about the same for returning power. Mauer, Morneau, and Willingham all have had big HR seasons, with Valencia, Plouffe, and Doumit providing power-potential. Obviously we're going to struggle hitting 150 home runs, but it's not a completely hopeless lineup. There are enough run-producers to carry the weight.

Tosoni didn't make his major league debut until last year, so he should have two options remaining.